Star's and Orange's
by Kitsunekit75
Summary: Mikan Sakura and her partner Ichigo Kurosaki are the new students at DWMA, along the way to creating the DeathScythe Mikan runs into trouble from her past, meet's a child witch, and somehow falling in love with none other than Black*Star! Rated T for paranoia and this story will take place not long after Maka and Soul first run into Crona. Thank you for being patient with me!
1. My dearest apologies!

Mikan: Okay everyone, here is a story about me and Black*Star, it's going to be a romantic comedy and-

Black*Star: Yahoo! Finally I'm going to be center stage- Gets violently beaten by Mikan,

Kitsunekit75: Um…hi there, um…oh gosh what to say, what to say…oh right! For those of you who have read my stories I promise you won't be disappointed, I think, well I will be apologizing now if my portrayal of Black*Star is not up to your expectations, I want this Black*Star to be a little more mature and grown up for it to work between Mikan and himself. Also you will notice that I have added a character from another anime, no this is not a crossover, I'm only using Ichigo Kurosaki because I'm in love with the guy and he's a total badass. You will notice that his weapon form is also the huge ass sword he usually has in the beginning of the anime. Um…this will have some action and adventure too, I'm not good at fight scenes so please bear with me and I will have some moments when Black*Star will be completely different person because there are going to be points and times in the story where he and Mikan will have serious heart to heart talks, but not all the time. What else? Oh, right, there will be some Maka and Soul moments, but not that often and the time period is not long after Maka and Soul have their first encounter with Crona.

Black*Star: Would you just shut up and start the sh- Mikan grabs a metal bat and beats him to the ground,

Mikan: Please continue, I'll handle this moron,

Kitsunekit75: *Sweat drops* Okay then, Oh, um, there will be things like drinking, cussing, and some sexual references, maybe, I don't know, anyways um please read and review because as you all know how rewarding it can be when other people comment on your stories and that bubbly feeling it gives you knowing that you made some kind of impression on them. Anyways, Mikan, you want to help me finish this off?

Mikan/Kitsunekit75: Now a word from our sponsor! *Both grin mischievously*

Kyo Sohma: Why the hell am I here? I'm not even in this anime!

Kitsunekit75:What can I say? I'm a lover of orange heads! Oh also I do not own Soul Eater, the or Ichigo Kurosaki, or Kyo Sohma *Wipes away tears* um…I do own Mikan and any thing from the story that is NOT part of the manga or anime.


	2. Mikan's character Profile

Character Profile

Name- Mikan Sakura

Age- 15 (She's young but smart)

Birthday- February 15, 1997

Hair- Pale blonde, goes to just under her chest with bangs, usually her side fringes will be pulled back in a ponytail but the rest will stay down.

Eyes- Bright amber

Height- 5 '3'

Weight- 120

Likes- Teasing her friends, reading, listening to music, beating sense into people when they're being stupid (Black*Star) watching movies and watching the stars

Dislikes- Bullies, people who need to get off their high horses, perverts (Spirit) anyone who messes with her friends.

Fear- Spiders

Secret Fear- Being abandoned

Loves- Star gazing, being held, falling asleep to someone singing to her

Favorites

Book(s)- Beauty, a re-telling of the story of Beauty and the Beast by Robin McKinley, Just Listen by Sarah Dessen and Along for the Ride also by Sarah Dessen

Movie(s)- How to train your Dragon, Howl's Moving Castle, Spirited Away, Beauty and the Beast (Disney version) and A walk to remember

T.V. show(s)- Grimm, and Psych

Songs- Wait For You by Elliot Yamin, Back At One by Brian McKnight, Stuck Like Glue by Sugarland, and Dance with the Devil by Breaking Benjamin

Foods- Pizza, mostly just cheese pizza with pineapples, onions and sausage, spaghetti with garlic bread, fried rice and mar far chicken and rice with cream of mushroom soup and chicken

Drinks- Dr. Pepper, hot chocolate with vanilla and mint extract added in, apple juice and chocolate milk

Holiday- Halloween, Valentines Day and Christmas

Known for- Always listening to music or humming a song

Known for by friends- Has a chocolate Oreo milkshake addiction

Past- When Mikan was ten her entire family was killed right in front of her, forcing her to run away to a place her parents once told her about a place her parents were able to live good lives, Death City. On the way she met Ichigo a current runaway who then joined her after she saved his life, now, years later Mikan will finally learn about the dark secrets shrouding her parents, if not, then she will die trying.


	3. Break out Fights and Observations

"Alright everyone, today we have some new students, so I want everyone to be on their best behavior alright?" Professor Stein said, looking to a specific bluette, everyone chuckled or giggled as Tsubaki only sweat dropped, the man turned to the door and motioned forward with his hand. Everyone, the guys specifically gasped and stared in awe. It was a boy and a girl. The girl though, she seemed to be the leader. She wore a pair of dark blue jeans tucked into a pair of leather boots, there were two buckles that faced on the outside which seemed to please Kid very much. The top she wore was a tight black spaghetti strapped top that in bold white lettering said 'I ONLY DATE BAD BOYZ' on her left wrist was a simple bracelet that was red black and grey, and on her right wrist were four simple black rubber bands. Her side fringes had been pulled back into a tight ponytail, leaving the rest of her hair down, bangs fell into her large ocean blue eyes, her pale blonde hair fell to just under her chest, which not much bigger than Maka's but because of the tight form fitting top she wore it was still accentuated. The girl had a necklace around her neck, two necklaces in fact. The first one was a choker the ribbon was black silk with a heart shaped crystal, it was clear and reflected a light rainbow light against her pale skin, it looked to be clear cut. The second necklace was a simple gold chain with a ring on it.

The boy was at least a head and a half taller than her, the top of her head just barely reached his shoulders. He had a build that was very much like Black*Star's, he wore a simple white t with a long black sleeved shirt underneath with a pair of baggy jeans with a black leather belt around the pant's loops, the belt buckle was a silver skull. His hair was a bright orange and spiky with bangs that fell in his chocolate brown eyes, he had a wrist band on his left wrist that had the kanji for 'Fight' stitched neatly on it. His eyes were alert and narrowed as he looked about the classroom. He stood protectively behind the girl.

"Everyone, this is Ichigo Kurosaki and Mikan Sakura, they will be joining us from now on. So make them feel at home" suddenly a hand shot up, it was a girl with ash blonde hair and bright green eyes,

"Yes Maka?" the Professor called on her, the girl now known as Maka smiled at the two teens before her,

"I was just wondering what kind of Meister are you?" Mikan had a mischievous grin as her long eyelashes framed her eyes nicely, the air turned tense as the Meister girls shared a knowing look,

"Care to find out Maka?" she asked, once again the two girls had a stare off as they each had a silent conversation, a battle of wills and so far, it seemed their intelligence and will power was evenly matched. Silently the two girls looked away at the same time and as if they were one both headed to the door,

"Ichigo" she commanded, the twins shared a look, nodded and followed their Meister out the door,

"Soul" the white haired teen only grunted as he stood and dutifully followed his Meister. Not wanting to waste this opportunity to not only ditch class but see their newest classmate's the entire class along with Professor Stein followed the five teens. Maka examined her opponent beside her, she seemed to exude a calm and laid back attitude that rivaled Soul's as she kept her hands in her pockets and a thoughtful look appeared on her face as her eyes glazed over. The walk to the outside was quiet and tense, even Black*Star seemed to understand the unusual spark in the air as he watched the new girl in question, arms behind his head in his usual lazy demeanor. From what he could tell, she actually looked…lonely…shaking that understanding from his mind he continued a silent vigil over the girl, unaware that Tsubaki was silently watching him as well with a curious and somewhat knowing look in her eyes.

The class made it to the outside corridor, where all the battles take place, Mikan's eyes sharpened, hands out of her pockets, Maka and Mikan stared each other down,

"Soul, transform" the ash blonde commanded, the boy nodded as he transformed into his scythe form, Mikan whistled low as she Maka twirled Soul with the grace and ease of any Meister. Not wanting to be outdone the pale blonde girl licked her lips and turned her head just a little in Ichigo's direction, he nodded and jumped in the air. His weapon form was quite impressive. As he fell his turned into a sword that was huge, like a giant version of a kitchen knife, Mikan caught the blade's handle, twirling it around her wrists flawlessly and with the grace and ease of a very high leveled swordsman placed the dull side of the blade against her shoulder. Mikan's eyes glittered in amusement as she saw the crowds reaction to Ichigo's transformation. Driving the edge of the blade into the stone she pulled out a pair of black leather gloves. The blade itself was easily wider than the small framed girl, the blade itself went to her chest as the blade's handle went to the top of her head. Compared to her weapon the girl herself looked weak and fragile, but that's the thing about women meister's they seemed to have just as much power and endurance as any man, maybe even more so since they train harder and longer than any man. Mikan, as if picking up a simple sewing needle grabbed the handle and easily lifted and balanced the blade on her shoulder, her other arm hanging limply at her side,

"Ready?" Maka called out, Mikan nodded,

"Ready!" they just stood there for a moment before the two girls became blurs of red and yellow and black and blue, they clashed in the middle as Mikan used her sword to stop Maka's scythe. Once again this was a battle not of combat and strength but of patience and will power, Mikan spread her legs and braced them as she put her weight on her right leg and swept her leg under the other girls' making her slip and fall. Maka quickly got up again and slashed at the air with the blade, and kept up the swinging motion as Mikan dodged with the fluid ease and grace of a swordsman. Finally Maka stopped swinging and used the bottom of the staff to ram it into her stomach, but not enough to cause any internal damage. Though because of Mikan's endurance levels the blow didn't do much to her,

"Ha, you call that a blow? Ichigo's sucker punch is harder than that! I should know" she grinned, knowing she had the other blonde riled up, grinning she crouched low and slashed at the other girls stomach with the back of the blade, much like Maka had done. Jumping high Mikan dodged another of Maka's swipes, flipping in the air the pale blonde girl landed only a few feet behind the other girls back and ran low to the ground, keeping the blade close to her back, it was a technique Black*Star recognized. Only a yard away the amber eyed girl got to her full height and threw her body to the Scythe-Meister's body, sending both girls tumbling to the ground as they rolled and wrestled on the ground, both weapons transformed back into human and watching their Meister's brawl it out. Mikan had Maka pinned, only to have Maka kick her off, sending the other girl to roll on the ground, flipping onto her back she jumped back onto a crouch and stood, using her arm to stop an ongoing kick aimed to her face. Grabbing her ankle, Mikan pulled hard on the other girls ankle, landing her on the ground again as Mikan grabbed her shirt collar and started spinning her before tossing her rather violently. The green eyed girl rolled her body in the air and landed on the balls of her feet just in time to toss Mikan over her shoulder which then caused Mikan to pull Maka down on the ground and sat on her stomach, pinning her wrists down and using her own legs to pin Maka's legs down as well. Both girls were worked up as sweat rolled down their temples, in all honesty, this was a great work out for both girls but neither wanted to admit it until the fight was over,

"Alright girls that's enough, I think you both proved your points" both girls simultaneously looked to see Professor Stein watching them, as he made eye contact with Mikan though, a look of curiosity and confusion clouded his eyes before he looked away again. Sighing the younger girl got up and offered the other a hand, which, Maka took happily.

"Man, that was a damn good warm up, thanks for that Maka" she grinned, once again holding her hand up, a look of trust and acceptance played in both their eyes as Maka clasped Mikan's, their souls humming still from not only the fight but the new pact they just made. Something that very few Meister's and weapons are capable of without words. The girls turned to their weapons respectfully,

"Mikan that was a great fight, though I wish you used us more" Ichigo smiled, Mikan looked sheepish as she rubbed the back of her neck and laughed loudly and cheerily, unaware of the pair of green eyes watching her.

"Well Ichigo, looks like DWMA was a great offer after all" the young Meister grinned as she turned to look to the sky, before closing her eyes softly as a warm breeze caressed her skin.

The next day Mikan woke up in her new room, the apartment was big, it had three bedrooms, a bathroom and a kitchen along with a living room, the young girl reached up and pulled the curtain away from her window and watched as the sky slowly turned from dawn to morning. Shaking her head she got up and changed from her Hello Kitty pajama bottoms and tank top to a pair of shorts that are higher than mid thigh but not quite short shorts with the shirt from yesterday only it was blank and had nothing on it. Slipping on her tennis shoes she went to her mirror and pulled her side fringes back again, loose hair framing her face and brushing her bangs. Putting on her choker and necklace from yesterday she smiled as she brushed her hair again quickly, grabbed her knapsack and put her notebooks and a book or two for entertainment for later. Grabbing her MP3 and cell phone she entered the living room to see Ichigo wearing what he had on yesterday only the black sleeves were pulled up to his elbow, revealing his large hands as he set two plates down at the table,

"So, what do you think of Maka and Soul?" Mikan asked, Ichigo sat down,

"I like them, the air they exude is comical and calming" Ichigo was good at picking things up like relationships, it was both loved and feared by the younger girl, but only when it wasn't directed towards her.

"Soul gives off the devil-may-care attitude off too thickly though. It worries me…also…something is off about him…something dark, further research is needed" he commented to himself, the orange haired boy was like a vast web of information that contained secrets of all kinds that with a few small observations and contacts he can basically figure out a person like that. When Mikan first met Ichigo, it freaked her out when the older boy had practically broken her down to her basic components, but, as long as he didn't do it too often then the blonde didn't care what he saw.

"I know what you mean, when he turned to his weapon form the darkness I could sense had grown stronger, it was maddening" Mikan shivered. If Ichigo could figure out a person by watching and examining them then Mikan could feel their aura's around them. Their abilities are rare in weapon and meister D.N.A but not impossible, it's basically a sixth sense that had merged with one of the other five senses, enabling them to use that specific sense more accurately not only in battle but in everyday life. Mikan couldn't count how many times their abilities saved her ass with every mission and job they took. Picking up a piece of wiggly bacon the younger girl bit into it and chewed slowly, savoring the flavor and swallowed, taking another bite and getting lost in her thoughts. So it seemed that Soul was the one to watch for the moment, she nodded to herself absentmindedly drinking a sip of her mint and vanilla hot chocolate. Shaking her head she finished her food and drink before getting her stuff and walking out as her sword trailed closely behind her.

After climbing the stairs to DWMA the students just walking to class had turned to see Ichigo giving his meister a piggy back ride, she grinned as her music blasted in her earphones, bobbing her head to the music, unaware of their audience. Feeling herself being harshly bumped she took out her earphones and turned off her I-pod, wrapping the cord swiftly around the small device and put it in her pocket and placed her chin on Ichigo's shoulder,

"I swear to death why can't you walk on your own?" the boy grumbled, Mikan sighed,

"Because dearest Ichigo, I don't feel like it and I thought you liked the work out it gave you?" she asked innocently,

"I should just drop you and leave you here to rot" he sighed, Mikan only giggled as her grip tightened,

"But you won't" Ichigo looked over his shoulder to see her eyes glittering in amusement, he rolled his own chocolate ones and looked back to the hallway they were in, still being watched,

"Yeah? What makes you say that?" he challenged, he felt her wiggle a bit and got into a more comfortable position, god she was such a child sometimes, he thought, annoyed at her,

"Because you love me" she said simply, the boy felt his meister relax as she closed her eyes, her expression thoughtful as sleep overcame her once again. He sighed and shook his head, _how the hell did she become my meister again? Oh yeah, because she was going to die if I didn't save her,_ it was quiet as he entered their new classroom and spotted Maka and Soul bickering playfully, he shook his head, they probably didn't even notice the attraction they felt for each other. Climbing the steps he gently placed his meister next to a girl with a killer body. Her long black hair was pulled into a high ponytail, her dark eyes widened in shock as she noticed Ichigo staring and blushed under his gaze, he smiled softly as he put Mikan in a more comfortable position. He folded her arms and placed them on the desk and gently placed the side of her head on her arms and scooted her chair in so her stomach wouldn't strain from the stretch. Ichigo took a seat next to her and chuckled when Mikan mumbled something about raccoons and cake,

"She looks so peaceful, it must be nice" he heard a soft whisper, turning to his left he noticed the girl was smiling softly down at Mikan,

"Yeah, it is. It's good for her though, she hasn't had much peace in her life, hopefully this place will be different" he said softly, Tsubaki looked to him curiously but didn't question it, for which he was grateful for,

"Oh, I'm sorry, where are my manner's I'm Tsubaki, a shadow weapon," Tsubaki held out a dainty hand, but, then again to Ichigo, all girls hands are small and dainty compared to his, he smiled and shook her hand, surprised at her strength as she gave him a good grip,

"Ichigo, sword weapon" Tsubaki nodded and looked to a blue haired boy, his hair was in the shape of star, at least, that's what it looked like to the orange top.

"Black*Star is my meister, he's a bit-" unfortunately whatever she was about to say was interrupted by a loud and obnoxious voice,

"I AM THE GREAT BLACK*STAR! YOU MUST BE SURPRISED AT HOW BIG A MAN I AM!" he shouted obnoxiously, laughing like a moron as he stood on his desk, Mikan stirred and Ichigo was about to tell him to shut up when he spoke loudly again,

"Oh, it's alright if you don't say anything! Every small man and woman are always awed and too stunned to speak when they first meet a star like-" unfortunately he was interrupted by a right hook that sent him flying to the chalkboard and crumpled to the ground, the air turned silent and icy as killing intent rolled off the pale blonde and violently sparked amber eyed girl. Lowering her arm to her side she watched as the boy stood and glared at her, wiping a bit of blood off his lip, both surprised and annoyed that he was actually bleeding by this little girl by no less!

"You know, you should be considerate when people are sleeping around you, your voice is so annoying that it's making my ears bleed you bastard" Black*Star felt it, the malice and Ichigo sighed, muttering quietly to himself,

"Here we go again" and, as if that were the signal both teens coiled their muscles as they jumped and met in the middle, their fists bumping into each other. It would have been the greatest fist bump in all of history if the situation weren't so dire. Reaching out with her other hand she grabbed the collar of his shirt and threw him out the open window and then proceeded to run after him, once again, launching herself out of the window as well. Thankfully at that moment both Professor Stein and Spirit were walking by just as the two teens landed on the balls of their feet.

"What's your problem Blondie? So I woke you from you nap what's the big deal?" she snorted, pulling out her gloves and tugging them on, in her mind, it wasn't just about her being woken from her nap,

"That's part of it, but the other part is how you just interrupted Tsubaki just now. She was just being polite and introducing you to us and you didn't even let her finish her sentence," Black*Star frowned,

"So what? Tsubaki knows I don't mean anything by it if I talk over her, she's even told me that she's fine with it" he waved her off, Mikan snarled, surprising him

"No, it's because she's softhearted and you take advantage of it knowing she'd forgive you if you disrespected her like that. I'm surprised she hasn't left you for another Meister yet" the boy before her froze, it seemed only part of her words took effect on him and he only charged her instead of talking back.

The amber eyed girl grabbed Black*Star's fist in one hand and grabbed the other as he punched her again, once again, a battle of wills played out as Mikan fought for Tsubaki's pride and respect as Black*Star only wanted to show her what kind of enemy she had just made out of him. Putting her weight onto her left leg she lifted up her right one and roundhouse kicked him in the gut then twisted their arms and brought him to his back as the blue haired boy flipped her onto her back and sat on her stomach, pinning the girl's wrists with only one hand above her head. She struggled, her foot slid across the cobblestone of the courtyard, Black*Star only stared down at her, a smirk forming as he knew he won,

"Never pick a fight with the one who will surpass god unless you have the backbone to back you up" he stayed on her until she calmed down and when he got up, big mistake. Jumping to her feet she ran at him and jumped on his back, wrapping her arm around his neck in a chokehold that won't kill him though as she wrapped her legs around his waist,

"Get off me woman!" he shouted, pulling and tugging at the smaller form of the girl but she only stayed glued to him,

"Apologize to Tsubaki then I will" she reasoned, still unaware of their audience,

"Why should I apologize when I did nothing wrong?" he yelled at her, ramming her back against the pillar, hoping injuring her will get her off, which only made her grip tighten harder,

"You talked over her, she was only introducing the both of you to me and my weapon's when you decided you wanted to have the attention. Your just being a jerk to her!" ramming her harder against the pillar he thought he heard a crack but ignored it.

"Apologize!" she shouted, pulling away from the pillar Black*Star tried to pry her off his back. Grabbing her hips he tugged and pulled but couldn't get her off of him, _damn she's strong! Was she holding back against Maka yesterday?_ Black*Star thought to himself. Getting tired of her he decided to just apologize, spotting Professor Stein and Spirit watching them, both looking quite amused he growled and just started walking back to class, hating that Mikan was still attached to his back. _How dare this tiny bug make a big star like me look like a fool! Is she trying to steal my stage light? Well if she is I'll just steal it back!_ Entering the classroom with the Koala bear still secure he walked up to Tsubaki, trying to ignore the stares of his peers, especially the incredulous look Soul was giving him. Feeling a head slap he turned his head a little and only caught the curve of her neck and shoulders and a firm settled frown, ignoring the healthy glow and petite form attached to his back he looked into Tsubaki's dark eyes.

"Listen Tsubaki, I want to apologize for the way I always upstage you in everything we do. Also I want to apologize that we haven't been able to catch much Kishen egg soul's, I know it's my fault that we have so little and are behind everyone" the class just watched as Tsubaki teared up and smiled brightly as she eye smiled,

"Thank you Black*Star, that means so much to me to hear you say that" he reached out and patted her head gently before pulling away as the demon weapon wiped her eyes, he sighed only to remember a certain Koala bear still stuck to his back,

"Hey Koala, get the hell off my back will ya? A big star like me doesn't need small people clinging to them" Mikan only shrugged and slowly unwrapped her arms and legs and fell gently to her feet with a light thump. He half turned and looked to the smaller framed girl, she only grinned, clasping her hands behind her back,

"There, see? Not so bad was it?" she giggled before joining her weapon who only sighed and shook his head, as if used to her crazy antics.

"Alright class, show's over and lets get to dissecting" Professor Stein called out, the man turned the screw in his head as he assessed his newest Meister student, _How interesting…this is the girl to watch out for from now on…she even got Black*Star to apologize, tested out Maka's strength, I wonder what else this girl is capable of? Now, if only I can figure out why she not only looks familiar but why I know her soul's wavelength so well. The Professor mused in his mind, secretly watching her as she and Tsubaki talked quietly as the other girl showed the amber eyed girl how to dissect. _

_Lord Death sighed as he turned his mirror off and turned to see a woman of five foot seven with pale blonde hair that fell to her mid neck pulled back in a half ponytail, her bangs clipped back neatly, holding a newly born baby girl in her arms as she stared lovingly at the girl. Right next to them was a small Black*Star as his finger was clasped gently in the baby girls tiny fist, _

"_Oh Layla, if only you could see your daughter now. It seems she and Black*Star have finally made contact, even if they don't remember each other" Death sighed once again as he thought of how sad this whole situation will turn out. _


	4. Test prep & explaining the unexplainable

Mikan watched in anticipation as they had training today, today the meister's would be working on hand to hand combat in case they ever get separated from their weapons. Mikan and a girl she had recently been acquainted with named Natalie Rhodes circled each other, both tense, waiting for the other to strike. It had been a week since Mikan and Ichigo had joined DWMA and so far they hadn't taken any missions yet, ever since Maka and Soul had been attacked by the demon sword known as Crona, all teams now had to be two man teams. Mikan was quick as she ran straight at the other girl and tackled her to the ground, the two rolled on the grass as Natalie and Mikan were quick to give and receive hard blows. Getting back up quickly Mikan grabbed Natalie by her ankle and wrist and tossed her across the field and ran quickly after her. One thing that Mikan had been slowly being discovered on was her speed, since she had to haul Ichigo's huge ass weapon form all the time when accepting challenges and over long distances she had become fast, plus with all this training she'd been getting her strength had been getting better too.

"Ha!" Jumping in the air she flipped and sent a powerful kick to the other girl's stomach, sending her crashing into the ground, Natalie moved just in time to avoid one of Mikan's punches, using this as a distraction Natalie started beating on Mikan, sending kicks and punches her way. One particular kick to the abdomen sent Mikan flying in the air, the blonde girl dug her fingers into the earth when she was close enough as she used the balls of her feet as back stops and slowed to a stop. Standing straight she saw that she had ended up on the other end of the practice field, right where the weapons practice. Gasping she doubled over as a powerful sucker got her lip. Wiping the blood off Mikan looked up into the girls large blue eyes, soon the girls went from superhuman fighting to regular all out brawl. Ignoring the whoops and praises coming from the other weapons, getting on her left leg Mikan spun and used the force of the spin to roundhouse kick the other girl.

"I concede" Natalie panted, they stood for a second before they both slumped to the ground, tired and aching, soon the sunlight was blocked as a familiar orange head stood over her,

"Mikan, what are you doing?" he grumbled, she rolled her eyes as he picked her up and set her on her feet,

"Thanks, um, you know-" she was interrupted by her stomach which grumbled loudly, Ichigo only face palmed,

"Wow, I really worked up an appetite" she laughed, that was another thing about her, she always seemed to be laughing more and having a good time, there have been a couple times when she had even went as far as skipping classes with Soul and Black*Star. All in all Mikan was having a blast being at DWMA.

Once Meister training was over the girls hit the showers, tugging her ponytail out Mikan felt the silky soft strands of her hair fall gently down her back as she stepped under the warm water. Letting the warm water cool her muscles and relax her body the blonde girl grabbed the honey and vanilla shampoo and lathered it before applying it to her hair. It was an innocent scent that naturally called out to her, as weird as it sounds, she quickly scrubbed at her scalp as the suds fell down the drain and only stood there for a moment before applying the conditioner. When she was done she turned the water off and wrapped a towel around herself and squeezed the excess water out of her hair, got dressed and towel dried her hair and just left it down before heading off to lunch.

"Mikan-Chan!" said girl looked up and noticed Maka calling out to her, Tsubaki with her, smiling the younger girl caught up with her two friends,

"Hey Tsubaki, Maka, where are the others?" she asked, noting the group was missing it's loudest members, Maka rolled her eyes as Tsubaki sweat dropped,

"Soul and Black*Star have to stay after class because they were caught ditching. Kid, Liz and patty went to go see Lord Death about a mission" she nodded the trio walked to their usual spot on the courtyard, away from the other students and under a huge tree that shaded them,

"Where's Ichigo? Isn't he always following you around everywhere?" Maka suddenly asked, Mikan blinked and grinned before pulling out a PB&J and took a bite,

"Well, he said something about having to make a quick phone call to someone, said it was important and for me to go meet up with the gang" Maka nodded as Tsubaki only smiled softly before taking a bite of her bento. The girls went quiet after that, just sitting and relaxing and enjoying each other's silent company.

The school bell rang, signaling school was over and Mikan watched as a huge crowd of the student population swarmed out of the building like there was no tomorrow. She smiled and turned to see Soul and Black*Star talking to their partner's,

"Hey Mikan, have you been studying?" she looked up to see Maka, she nodded giving her a confused look,

"Yeah, why?" Maka smiled as she fell into step with the other girl,

"Well, there is going to be this huge test tomorrow, and there's a legend behind it" Mikan's eyes sparkled, she liked legends, giving the other meister her full attention she turned to her,

"Oh, what's the legend?" Maka, surprised by her enthusiasm smiled, and tried to look dramatic, as though sharing a classified secret,

"Well, the legend is that if you get the highest score on the test, that person will be able to turn their weapon into a Death-Scythe in no time" Maka looked proud of herself as the younger girl took in the information and smiled hugely, pumping her fist into the air she had that faraway look in her eyes,

"All right! I'm gonna beat all your asses on that test tomorrow! You'll see! I'll turn Ichigo into the greatest Death-Scythe ever!" she shouted, a giant grin on her face only to feel a hand on her head, turning she looked to see Ichigo smile gently down at her,

"I know you will" her enthusiasm grew exponentially as she turned and ran, kicking up dirt and dust as she ran back to their apartment, screaming out how she's going to ace the test. Ichigo only sighed and smiled after her,

"Well guys, looks like I'm about to pull an all nighter so best of luck to you guys" Black*Star, suddenly feeling pumped up grabbed Tsubaki's hand and dragged her back to their apartment,

"Don't worry Tsubaki! I won't let Mikan upstage us!" he shouted, Tsubaki only smiled when she realized he said 'us' and not 'me' when he wants to, Black*Star can actually be a really great guy. Though the taller girl knew, ever since Mikan had challenged Black*Star that one time, he seemed to have changed, it wasn't big things but he seemed to have tried to include Tsubaki more when he was bragging about himself. He also seemed to have tried letting her speak up more, it was a strange thing to the girl, how just one fight and some not very common sense can help a person try just a tiny bit more in life, she had to think of a way to thank Mikan for this.

"Thank you" she said, speaking to both Black*Star and Mikan, said boy turned to look at her and grinned hugely, which was contagious as she smiled, really smiled back at him.

Mikan sneezed then happily took the tissue Ichigo gave her,

"Thanks, think someone was talking about me?" she joked, the orange top only rolled his eyes as he looked over Mikan's notes, his eyebrows furrowed, _these don't even make sense! How the hell does she understand what she writes!_ He thought, looking over her notebook. The letters and words had been turned into gibberish, things like 'A happy soul lives in a clear head and a full stomach' running his hand down his face he looked over the girl, she stood at the stove, making hot chocolate. As soon as the two had gotten home she had changed into her Hello Kitty pajama's and got out all her notebooks and study material's, when she came back she set the two cups down and set her cup to the side so it could cool off.

"Mikan?" she looked up,

"Yeah?" he slid the notebook to her and pointed at the gibberish and gave her a stern look,

"Tell me what this says" she looked over at it and grinned before laughing, it took her a few minutes to calm down before she sat up again and angled the chair so she was sitting next to him,

"It says 'A sound soul dwell's in a sound mind and a sound body'" she grinned cheekily, his face turned blank before looking back to the notebook then back at her,

"How did you get that?" she smiled and took a small sip of her drink then looked back to him.

"Okay, 'A sound soul' is something I feel when at my happiest. It's that warm buzzing feeling I have when I laugh at something Black*Star got in trouble for, or when Tsubaki gets all flustered after thinking she over stepped her bounds. It's a warm feeling that makes my soul feel, well, sound" she finished, he looked at her, somehow, the way she explained made sense. Her soul wavelength whenever they do their 'Soul Resonate' she always seemed strongest when she was happy, and he could sense it in her wavelength.

"Okay, explain the 'clear head' part now" she rolled her eyes,

"When I'm happy sometimes I don't think. I just let my feelings take over, I let my mind clear and I just let the buzzing warmth fill me up" he nodded, telling her to continue,

"Now, the full stomach part, well, the stomach is part of the body right? So I thought that one would be pretty obvious" she explained, _Okay, that one actually did make sense, but seriously how does she come with this stuff? How is she able to process everything like this? He thought, Mikan really is incredible, shaking his head he left her to do her studying, ruffling her hair he downed his cocoa and went to take a shower. _

_Mikan sat up and looked out at the stars, that's the thing she really egged Ichigo on about the apartment was that it had a clear view of the stars. Standing up she saw how the time really flew by and packed up her books and notebooks and went to her room. She studied, she remembers everything now to take a quick shower and got to bed. _


	5. Getting to know her

Maka looked proud and well accomplished while Mikan couldn't stop laughing, Ox was pissed and the other's well, they just looked shocked,

"How the hell did Mikan get the highest score? I mean I can understand Maka since she's really smart but seriously, Mikan had only been here for a week!" Black*Star complained, said girl turned to him and grinned,

"Well, I borrowed Maka's notes and modified them in my own notebook so I can understand it differently. I have a different learning process than the rest of you, and if you don't believe me ask Ichigo" she defended. See what happened was that they took the legendary test and well…Mikan and Maka got the highest scores on it. The amber eyed girl wrapped around Black*Star's shoulder's and gave him a comforting look,

"Well, next time we have a test I can help you prepare for it if you really want" Black*Star only looked at her before crossing his arms and looking away,

"Hmph, what kind of a guy do you think I am? I'm gonna be the one to surpass god! Big star's like me don't need help like you little ones do" her eyes softened as she sighed, but kept her arm around him still, _Idiot, everyone needs help sometimes, even if you don't want or need it, it's something you can't avoid no matter how hard you try_ she thought before using her other hand to ram hard into his thick skull.

"OW! What the hell was that for?" the taller boy demanded, she only shrugged and let go of him and turned to Tsubaki and Maka,

"Hey, want to go get a treat? Ichigo will pay" she laughed, Ichigo sweat dropped, already checking how much cash he has, knowing Mikan she's going to want to get a large chocolate Oreo milkshake. He had about fifty dollar's so it was no problem for him,

"We can go to 31 Death flavor's, what do you say? Yeah?" the girls thought about it before smiling,

"Sure sounds lovely, we haven't been able to do anything fun since we had to study" Maka smiled, Soul scoffed,

"Your _always_ studying Maka" next thing the gang knew Soul was writhing on the floor, suffering from a powerful Maka-Chop. Mikan grinned and turned to Kid, Liz and Patty,

"What do you three say? Want to go with us?" she smiled, Kid only smiled

"Sure, it sounds nice, girls?" he turned to the pistol twins, Liz nodded, wrapping an arm around Mikan's shoulders,

"Yeah, sounds good, then we can get to know you better" her eyes glittered, feeling pumped up,

"Ice cream! Ice cream!" Patty chanted, Ichigo groaned, knowing he'd have to pay for all of them, shaking his head he followed his meister and the knew group she had placed them in. Tsubaki fell into step with him,

"Are you okay? You don't seem too excited" he looked down at her and shook his head, sending her a small smile,

"No, this is good, this kind of environment is good for her. Mikan hasn't smiled this much since before I've met her," Tsubaki gave him a look, he only sighed,

"Mikan had some really bad luck when she was younger, don't tell anyone this but Mikan's parents were…were killed right in front of her when she was ten. After she met me, it took me six months to get her to smile, then another six after that to even get her to trust me, though, I guess I wasn't very trustworthy to her back then" her dark eyes widened as she said this, then looked back to the pale blonde girl, she was laughing at something Liz told her, the pistol girls had linked their arms with Mikan's as Soul and Maka walked ahead of the three girls with Kid and Black*Star behind the arm linked girls with Ichigo and Tsubaki right behind Black*Star and Kid. She seemed so cheerful, it was hard to see Mikan with a traumatic past like that.

"That's horrible, but, how did you get her to trust you? If you don't mind my asking?" she said, he only sighed and ran his hand through his hair before putting it back in his pocket, the way Mikan seemed to do when she didn't know what to do with her hands.

"I saved her life" he said simply, he shook his head,

"I had been running with this bad crowd when we first met, it was only a year after her parents had been killed, sometimes we'd run into each other after I had finished a job or I'd go look for her. We had a meeting spot, this little abandoned park and well…guess my old crew didn't like I was spending my free time with Mikan. So, they did the only thing they knew what to do," he paused as he held the door open for the two of them, she walked through and he fell back into step with her,

"They tried to kill her" Tsubaki's eyes widened in shock, why would anyone try to kill Mikan? Just because she was friends with a former delinquent? That seemed stupid to her,

"It was-is-stupid of them" she gasped, she had said that out loud? He gave her a look before giving her a thumbs up,

"She had taken down most of the guys by the time I got there, but…she hadn't realized that I wasn't the only weapon in the gang. He was about to stab her when I jumped in front of her, I turned into a weapon and Mikan had used me to take them down. Of course we didn't kill him, but we put him in enough pain to know not to mess with her anymore. After that, we both left the city, traveling to different places until Mikan stated she wanted to come here, so…we did. You know the rest" Tsubaki fell quiet as all this new information sunk in, sadly she didn't take note how Black*Star had his head turned a little to the side, indicating he heard it all, his head turned back just as she looked back up. Although she did happen to notice Mikan's eyes meet hers, full of understanding and a silent plea, _please don't say anything to anyone,_ Tsubaki nodded, the other girl smiled appreciatively before turning back to Patty.

Entering the ice cream shop the girls sat down as the guys went to go get their orders, Mikan sat beside the window and looked out, watching as people and the occasional automobile passed by. Turning to look at the girls she noticed their staring,

"What?" Liz leaned forward who was sitting next to an empty seat in the middle between her and Patty, Kids seat.

"So, you and Ichigo, what kind of relationship do you have?" Mikan blinked, she let it sink in and turned to her partner, he must've felt her eyes on him because the orange top turned and smiled at her, she gave him the nod before looking back to the taller blonde,

"We have more of a sibling relationship going on, I'm an only child and well…Ichigo isn't in contact with his family so I guess since I'm younger than him he acts like I'm his younger sister or something" she seemed unhappy about her answer, she sighed and shook her head,

"Okay why don't you tell us a little bit about yourself then?" Maka suggested, Mikan nodded,

"Sounds good, other than Ichigo's relationship and I what do you want to know?" Tsubaki seemed a little edgy, Mikan good-naturedly bumped her knee against the chain scythe's and smiled goofily, the dark haired girl giggled,

"Well, what about your parents?" Liz asked just as the guys returned, Mikan ducked her head, her bangs covering her eyes as she frowned, Ichigo sighed and placed their drinks on the table before moving behind her, rubbing her shoulders,

"Parents are a-"

"They died when I was young, but it's okay, I've got Ichigo, he's my brother and all the family I need" she looked up, her face was turned into a blown out smile, eyes closed, Black*Star frowned,

"What's your favorite thing to do?" he suddenly asked, just like that Mikan blinked owlishly at him,

"Well, I like to watch movies, action mostly, occasionally a good romantic comedy is fun, no horror movies, can't stand those" she shuddered, she remembered when Ichigo convinced her to watch **Signs once, she couldn't sleep for two weeks. Taking a sip of her chocolate Oreo milkshake she sighed contently, **

"**Do you have any specific movies you like the most?" the bluette asked again, taking a seat right across from her, she nodded, her eyes sparking, **

"**Yeah, my favorites are 'Red, How to train your Dragon, Beauty and the Beast-Disney version-Howl's Moving Castle, Spirited Away and A walk to Remember' oh also 'Hitch' I like Will Smith, I'm also interested in 'The Fifth Element' because who doesn't like Bruce Willis?" she laughed, she took another sip, Black*Star smiled at her enthusiasm, in all honesty, Ichigo isn't sure what to think about the blue haired Meister, it was obvious the two were a lot alike in some area's and total opposites in others. It was a relationship Ichigo was sure he couldn't handle her being in. The rest of the gang broke off into their own separate conversations, but Tsubaki and Ichigo made sure to keep an eye on their meister's just in case. **

**Later that night Black*Star fell back on his bed, staring up at his ceiling, Mikan sure was different from other girls, they ended up talking about books to no less! She made talking about books somewhat less boring than when Maka tried getting to talk about it with him, she sure was funny too and she didn't even seem to mind his loud mouthed personality anymore. He smiled as he looked up at the stars, wondering, if maybe she was looking at them too. **

**Mikan had been indeed been staring at the stars, she was currently on the roof of their apartment, arms behind her head as her fingers intertwined, legs outstretched before her as a soft breeze played with her hair. She really liked Black*Star, at first she didn't think she would after their first meeting but the beating and forced apology she made him do seemed to have changed him slightly and Tsubaki seemed to be less stressed too. Smiling softly she got back on her feet and with one fluid motion swung herself off the ledge of the roof and into her room, closed the window and plopped into bed, cuddling her pillow to her chest. Maybe her and Black*Star could hang out sometime, she wondered just as sleep overcame her. **


	6. Meister Evaluation pt 1

It happened during class, they were in the middle of dissection when the door opened revealing Spirit, Maka's dad. Mikan had met him once before and honestly the guy creeped her out, everyone turned to attention when the redhead walked in,

"Stein, Mikan Sakura, Ichigo Kurosaki along with Black*Star and Tsubaki have been called in by Lord Death for something important, we need the four to report in right now" the grayish haired man nodded before looking to the four students,

"Well, you heard the man, Mikan, Ichigo, Black*Star, Tsubaki, get moving" the four nodded before getting up and heading down to Lord Death's room. The two Meister's walked in the front with their respective weapon's right behind them,

"What does Lord Death want with us?" Mikan suddenly asked, Spirit said nothing, she pouted as she shoved her hands deep in her cargo's pocket's, she wore a pair of black baggy cargo shorts that went just past her knees with a pair of simple red and white tennis shoes that were dirty, beaten and in dire need of being replaced. She had her side fringes pulled back like usual only this time she didn't wear the crystal heart but settled for only wearing the ring on the chain, flipping her bangs out of her eyes she looked back to her partner,

"Got any idea's for this?" she asked him, his brown orbs found her amber ones and shook his head no, she sighed before turning to Black*Star,

"Could it be a mission or something?" she asked, suddenly feeling her excitement flare up, the bluette looked to her and shrugged,

"Well, it could be anything, maybe it's your evaluation to find out what kind of Meister you are" she pouted, hating tests, the only reason she passed the legendary one is because she's good at taking them but she hates them.

Once they-finally!-made it to Lord Death's office? They the two teams entered as Spirit continued leading them in, feeling something brush up against her arm she turned to see Black*Star walking just a little closer than before. Smiling softly she turned back to see the wide expanse of the room before them,

"Hiya, wassup, wassup how's it going you four?" Lord Death said childishly, Mikan grinned her toothy grin, her canines showing,

"I'm good, though I'm wondering what this is about" he nodded at her, _she may have her mother's looks but she has her father's personality_ he thought wistfully before turning to address the rest of the group,

"Yes the reason I brought you all here is because I think it's time for Mikan and Ichigo to have their first mission" Mikan's eyes glittered as she took an eager step forward, only to be held back by Ichigo,

"Slow down cowgirl," he whispered to her, she ignored him, she was itching for a good fight,

"What is the mission?" she asked, Lord Death nodded and started to tell them about what they had to do.

"Holy Oreo's this is going to awesome!" Mikan shouted, she stretched her arms high above her head before clasping them behind her back and turned to the other three behind her,

"I can't believe we get to take down our first Kishen egg soul! Two of them as well!" she turned around again, her hair flaring around her before falling gently down her back again. The group ended up taking a car to the closest airport where they would fly to Springfield Oregon. It seemed that there have been a string of murdered teenage girls and for some reason the branch out in Oregon hasn't been able to take care of the Kishen egg. Sitting on the plane Mikan's knapsack lay at her feet as she opened her notebook and started writing in it, feeling eyes on her she looked up to see Black*Star watching her, he was sitting across from her while Tsubaki sat across from Ichigo,

"What?" she whispered, the two weapons were asleep, he shrugged,

"What are you writing?" he suddenly asked, she only grinned before shaking her head no and giving him a small smug grin,

"Sorry Black*Star, but this journal's for my eyes only, not even Ichigo has looked through it" before she closed it and put it back in her bag, she leaned back and let her eyes close softly as sleep took over.

Feeling someone shaking her she looked up to see Tsubaki standing over her,

"Mikan-Chan, we're here, time to wake up" she nodded and did as she was told. Putting her bag on her back she got up and stumbled behind the taller girl, she wobbled, tipping dangerously to the left before a pair of arms caught her, looking up she expected to see Ichigo instead it was Black*Star who caught her.

"Here, I can carry you" she nodded as he crouched before her, taking the hint she got onto his back as Black*Star gave her a piggy back ride through the terminal with Ichigo and Tsubaki on either side of him,

"So, I think we should find a hotel to stay in," Tsubaki voiced, Mikan shook her head, placing her chin on the bluette's shoulder,

"No, we actually have a friend who can give us a place to stay, hopefully. If not then we can just find a hotel" the pale blonde suggested, tightening her grip around Black*Star's neck, cuddling closer to the older boy.

"Okay then, where is this friend?" Black*Star asked, Ichigo smirked, grabbing his duffel and Black*Star's bag as well,

"Hopefully she's in a good mood," the orange top laughed, liking where this could possibly be headed towards, Tsubaki didn't like the look in his eye,

"Who is 'she?'" the chain scythe asked, Mikan gained a tiny bit of life in her eyes as she grinned almost darkly,

"'She' is none other than the woman who for the first three years after my parents were killed, took me in and taught me everything I know" she chuckled, Black*Star felt her body rumble just a little.

"Who is also my very terrifying, very badass aunt Gwendolyn McCain" the way Mikan said this surprised the other team, _just how powerful is she?_ Black*Star thought.

In a small apartment complex there was a two story apartment that the group of four stood in front of, there were very few cars parked in the area they were in, Mikan grinned hugely and somewhat knowingly as she pounded on the front door.

"Um…Mikan-Chan? Wouldn't it be more polite to knock more quietly?" Tsubaki suggested, the pale blonde only raised an eyebrow at the other girl,

"Tsubaki, it's cool, besides I'm sure my lazy assed aunt would like the exercise of getting off the couch!" as she said this Mikan's voice went higher as she turned towards the door before she pounded non-stop this time on the door.

"Alright I'm coming dammit!" an older woman's voice shouted at them, the door swung open harshly as the woman glared at the kids before her narrowed large blue eyes landed on Mikan,

"Mikan, what the hell? I thought you went to Shibusen? And who the hell are those two?"

"Gee I missed you too Aunty, Tsubaki, Black*Star, this is my crazy powerful ass aunty Gwendolyn" she introduced,

"Aunty, this is Tsubaki and Black*Star" the woman sighed heavily before stepping to the side, indicating for the kids to come in. _Great, now I just have to convince her not to kill us all when I tell her why we're here Mikan thought sourly, coming in last._


	7. Meister Evaluation pt 2

Gwendolyn McCain was the total opposite of her niece. She was five foot eight with short mid neck length raven black hair with almond shaped dark blue gray eyes, she wore a thin layer of eyeliner. She wore a pair of low-rise tight jeans with a short sleeve black t with a pair of black combat boots. Her eyes narrowed as she looked to Mikan, the spinning image of her younger sister, Mikan's cat shaped eyes though were from her dad, shaking her head of the young girls parents she addressed her sister's daughter.

"So Scrappy, why are you here?" she demanded, sitting down, crossing her arms tightly under her rather large bust, the small framed girl sat as well. They had been moved to the living room, the four teens sat-squished-on the couch as Gwendolyn sat on the chair,

"Lord Death gave me and Ichigo our first mission which is also an evaluation to see if we can take down the two Kishen egg souls that have been killing the girls here in Springfield" the pale blonde girl dead dropped, the older woman nodded as she turned to the two other kids,

"Tsubaki and Black*Star was it?" she asked, after they gave her confirmation she turned back to Mikan,

"They are our evaluator's for the mission" she stated, sighing Gwendolyn looked to the blonde,

"Okay, but you will have a set of rules I expect you to follow so listen up and pay attention" once she had their un-divided attention she began,

"1) Because the Kishen eggs have been hunting down the girls I don't want Mikan or Tsubaki to be outside at night alone, I know you're capable fighter's but I'm not taking any risks. 2) The girl's will sleep in different rooms as the guys, for obvious reasons. 3) Just don't die" she finalized, they all nodded,

"Mikan you and Tsubaki get the smaller room and the boys get the bigger one, oh, Scrappy, I left your room the way it was before so…" her voice trailed off, the girls nodded as Tsubaki followed the blonde to their room while Black*Star followed Ichigo. When both doors had been closed tightly Gwendolyn sighed and took out her cell phone and found a specific picture. It was of when Mikan was three, she was sitting on her dad's lap as a blue haired boy stood beside her, little Mikan stared in awe at his blue hair. While the blue haired boy looked straight in her amber cat shaped eyes. She sighed again as she closed her phone and put it away and looked out the open window and up at the night sky,

"Minus the blue hair, Black*Star could be the spinning image of his father" with that the woman got up and went downstairs to her bedroom.

"Okay Tsubaki, you can use the shower now" Mikan grinned, walking in only wearing a towel as she used a smaller one to towel dry her hair, the room slowly started to smell like the lotion she had just put on, Honey and Vanilla. The taller girl only smiled as she stood, grabbing a towel and some toiletries,

"Thanks Mikan" the other girl nodded and as soon as the door closed she quickly locked it and got dressed quickly. She sighed as she slipped on her Hello Kitty shorts and tank top. It was pink with black hemlines, on the top there was a giant Hello Kitty and in big cutely shaped white bubble letter's said "YOU HAD ME AT HELLO" with one eye closed and a little heart at the end of the sentence. After getting dressed Mikan unlocked the door then sat on the vanity chair and brushed the tangles out of her hair. Looking to the bed she sighed, the headboard was facing the window so that when the sun came up the light would land on the form laying on the bed, happily it was a double bed so it will fit the two girls. Fluffing out her hair and bangs the way she likes it she turned just in time to see Tsubaki coming in wearing red sweats and a white tank top, her hair was down. Mikan got up and stretched as the chain scythe put her towel in the dirty hamper and the two girls sat on the bed, the lamp still on as the girls sat in the quiet.

"Your aunt was really nice about the whole thing huh?" the chain scythe laughed, Mikan grinned, nodding,

"Yeah, and the rules were actually lighter than I thought, tomorrow we should go to the branch section here in Springfield and see what we can get from the others" the sword meister suggested, the other girl nodded, and turned to look at Mikan. The blonde looked thoughtful as she had her knees drawn up to her chest, her hands resting at her sides, her eyes closed softly as she leaned her head back,

"Mikan…?" Tsubaki hesitated, Mikan didn't move or turn her attention towards her, but Tsubaki somehow knew the younger girl was listening,

"You already know about my parents if that's what you're asking about," Mikan's voice was soft, she didn't say it in a mean way but in a knowing way,

"Your aunt, which side of your family is she on?" the corner of the blonde's mouth twitched, as if fighting a smile,

"She's my mom's older sister, took me in after my parents were killed, she also took in Ichigo for awhile too. Since she's a sword meister too she helped me learn how to handle Ichigo in a fight, well, any kind of sword really, it's pretty cool" she muttered, Mikan suddenly opened her eyes and reached to the night table and started brushing her nearly dry hair. Tsubaki saw how she took great care of her hair, noticing the staring Mikan grinned,

"My mom once told me that a girls hair is something to never trifle with, you have to take great measure's to keep it nice and pretty but not too much attention that it takes you away from the other-sometimes-more important things in your life" she said this as she brushed her bangs. The dark haired girl nodded and gratefully accepted the brush from Mikan when it was handed to her and started brushing her own hair.

"You know Tsubaki, you look really pretty with your hair down. You should keep it down sometimes" the sword meister said before turning the blankets over and getting under them, Tsubaki on the other hand felt the blush creep over her cheeks, _not many people compliment me so straightforwardly, it actually feels really good to hear someone say that,_ she thought, putting the brush down and getting under the cover's as well. Mikan turned the lamp off and cuddled her pillow, falling asleep instantly, Tsubaki on the other hand, just watched the other girl, smiled softly then turned her back to her and let sleep overtake her.

Black*Star and Mikan yawned hugely the next day, Black*Star, Ichigo and Tsubaki all sat at the table while Mikan stood at the stove, making breakfast with her aunt. All four teens still in their pajama's and Gwendolyn couldn't help but notice the double take the bluette gave her niece when he first saw her, and the slight blush her niece had when she saw the other meister shirtless. Shaking her head, Gwendolyn brought out the powdered sugar and maple syrup as the blonde just finished making her specialty, French Toast. Balancing the plates like a waitress Mikan set the plates down easily in front of their specific owner.

After they ate, with many compliments on the blonde's cooking, they all washed their dishes and got dressed. Ichigo wore his signature black long sleeved shirt under a short sleeve white t, jeans and tennis shoes, Black*Star wore a white wife beater, jeans and his black and white tennis shoes. Tsubaki wore a blue jean skirt that went just above her knees with a pair of converse and a white tank top that had a low v-neck, just like Mikan suggested Tsubaki kept her hair down. Mikan wore a pair of baggy black cargos with her tennis shoes and a black spaghetti strapped tank top, side fringes pulled back like normally and her ring necklace on as well.

"Now what?" Ichigo asked, Mikan looked at him,

"We go to the branch section here in Springfield and get more information on the Kishen egg soul's, see if we can get any information about them and if we can get a step ahead of them" Mikan said, they other three nodded,

"I can take you to the branch here, you'll need me to get in" Gwendolyn suggested, today she had on a pair of jeans and a dark purple wife beater as well, her short hair pulled in a small ponytail that swung with every step she took. The group walked out of the apartment, locking it behind them Gwendolyn then led them to a silver mini van. Mikan got in the passenger while the other three climbed in the back, sliding the door closed Ichigo put his seatbelt on and watched as Mikan turned the station to Country music as Gwendolyn started driving.

"What happened to your truck Aunty?" Mikan asked, the woman side glanced her niece,

"Not enough room, only two of you plus myself could ride in it while the other two would have to sit in the bed and I can get a ticket for doing that" the blonde nodded as Gwendolyn started driving out of town.

"Where is the DWMA'S branch out here?" Tsubaki asked, the van took a right, leading them to cross the bridge,

"There's this old warehouse that was bought by Lord Death himself, the money they used funded the ability to build a few more smaller ones for things like training exercises and research. It's nothing like DWMA in Death City but it's still pretty good for a town this small" she spoke. It was quiet in the van except for the music playing and Mikan's occasional singing.

By the time the group got the warehouse it was already early afternoon, Gwendolyn parked the car and turned off the engine and turned to Mikan,

"Mikan, I'm going to warn you now, a lot of people who work here knew your parents okay?" she said, which surprised the blonde and nodded anyways,

"They will mention things about your parents and will be excited when they find out who you are but don't let it distract you okay? Just keep in mind why you and Ichigo and your two friends are here okay?" the blonde nodded and followed her Aunty as she got out the car, followed by the other meister and weapons.

When they entered the warehouse the teens just followed Gwendolyn, it was large and spacious, even more so from the inside. Instead of the regular giant equipment used for making products the structure had been emptied and been replaced with things like training equipment, a boxing ring, some weights and other training materials.

"The training room obviously, maybe if we have time we can brush up on your fight skills Mikan" the older woman smirked, Mikan only rolled her eyes, stuffing her fists in her pockets,

"Yahoo! This place is so cool! Definitely an area that a big star like me should train in!" Black*Star's loud voice echoed, Ichigo sighed,

"Here I thought he'd finally calm down" orange top grunted, trying not to slice him open, Tsubaki sweat dropped,

"Well, it was nice while it lasted right?" she laughed nervously, trying to calm the bluette down, only to have it backfire on her,

"He certainly is…an eager one isn't he?" Gwendolyn trailed, Mikan's eyes sparkled in amusement as she turned to her aunt,

"Yeah, but it's kind of refreshing once you get used to it" she offered, both women smiled before continuing on.

They reached the end of the training hall, and appeared before a broken down looking elevator, they stepped in as Gwendolyn pressed a few buttons before the cage like doors closed and sent them down, once again it was silent.

"So, how much do you know about the Kishen eggs that have been killing the girls?" Ichigo asked, slouching against the elevator walls, the sound of whooshing played in their ears as Gwendolyn thought of her answer,

"Not much really, I do know that the Kishen eggs have a certain…taste…I guess you could say in the victims they choose" Mikan perked up at that,

"What kind of…taste…?" she hesitated, her aunt was going to answer her when there was a ring in the air and the cage doors opened. The four teens gaped. In front of them was a large expanse of spacious room, bigger than the training area that the meister's and weapon's use, and that's pretty huge. Inside the room there were men and women of all ages, both meister's and weapons as they sat on tables, the floor, cots and makeshift beds as they were all being patched up by doctor's and nurses. Gwendolyn's eyes sharpened as they all rushed to the nearest doctor,

"Ed! What happened here?" Gwendolyn demanded, Ed was a tall man who was at the same eye level as Mikan's aunt, he had messy brown hair that was similar to anime style, he wore a lab coat like Professor Stein's minus all the stitching and turned to notice the small group.

"Well, these are all the meister's and weapon's that went after the Kishen eggs. Every single one of them have failed in trying to take them down" Tsubaki gasped and Mikan's eyes widened, _how could…how could so many meister's and weapon's…just how powerful are the Kishen egg soul's? Mikan wondered. There had to be at least nearly a hundred groups, how the hell was just Mikan, Ichigo, Black*Star and Tsubaki handle what a hundred meister weapon pair's couldn't? _


	8. Meister Evaluation pt 3

Mikan landed with a heavy THUMP as she landed on the balls of her feet on the rooftop of the warehouse, Ichigo strapped to her back in a brown leather sheath. The blonde and her partner were taking their turn of keeping guard, it's been nearly three days since they arrived for their mission and since they discovered that the Kishen had attacked the weapon's and meister's. Getting her cell phone out she made a quick call,

"Yeah Aunty? I've got nothing on my end, I'm going to do another perimeter search one more time then switch out with Black*Star. Yeah, I'm being care-" she was interrupted however by a loud rumbling that shook even the building and the girl on top. Tumbling to her butt she grunted, her phone skidded away, getting up she picked it up and finished her call,

"Send Black*Star and Tsubaki out, I think I'm going to need them" Mikan finished, hanging up and turning to see what kind of Kishen-

"Holy shit! I'm going to take _that on in a fight?!" the blonde haired meister yelled, the thing was easily as half the size of the warehouse, it's amazing the warehouse wasn't destroyed before this, she thought. Taking a deep breath she felt her soul quiver, _

"_Mikan, you can do this, remember, your one of the greatest sword meister's out there." Seeing his words barely had any affect on her he sighed, still in his sword form before sending his wavelength through her system, _

"_If you win this battle, I'll alternate between buying you Dr. Pepper and chocolate Oreo milkshakes everyday after school" he told her, sighing. He felt her body tremble and he knew it wasn't because of the rumbling from the Kishen, he didn't have to see her to know she was grinning hugely, _

"_Alright! This Kishen Teme is sooo going down!" she yelled, taking a few steps back then started running hard, using the edge of the building as a stepping stone she jumped and pulled out Ichigo. As they fell Mikan used the sharpest side of the blade to slice down the Kishen's body, the air ruffled her hair and clothes but did nothing to stop or slow her falling down the monster's body. Bracing her feet Mikan landed on her feet and jumped back again as the Kishen sent a hand smashing down, the hand that hadn't been slashed. _

"_Yahoo! Now this is a god-worthy opponent!" she smirked hearing Black*Star's voice, he was coming from her left, turning her head slightly she used Black*Star's appearance as a distraction and ran low to the ground, as she then slashed the Kishen's back. It howled in pain and landed it's fist in the building, it was faint but she could hear some screaming, shaking the thought out she saw Black*Star use something called Speed*Star and distracted the Kishen, though, it's partner on the other hand was not having that. The next thing the blonde teen knew she was being flung into the warehouse, _

"_Mikan!" Ichigo's voice called her, she moaned as she felt some sticky substance run down her shoulder, she knew it was blood, making a tch sound she used the sword as to stand up. Sheathing the sword she dodged another blow, just barely, back flipping in the air she landed back on the top of the warehouse before flinging herself back to her opponent. Bringing Ichigo out she swung him around her wrists easily before slashing at it's chest, then like the first Kishen let the blade slice it's front as she fell back towards the earth. Then before it knew what hit him Mikan jumped back on him and slashed it's neck, cutting the head off cleanly. Grabbing the back of the Kishen's shoulder she flipped so she was on his back, using the dead body as a way to somewhat land safely on the ground. When Mikan stepped onto the grass covered path she looked up to see Black*Star pinned to the warehouse as it slashed at him, her eyes widened before they darkened in fury, Ichigo transformed back to human after swallowing the Kishen egg soul watched as her eyes turned to a brilliant flame colored orange. The look she gave him was one of murder and once he saw the reason why, he silently turned back to a sword, swinging him around flawlessly again Mikan ran then leapt at the Kishen cutting it's arms off, it howled but was ignored as Mikan twirled in the air just in time to catch Black*Star and Tsubaki and placed them gently on the ground, _

"_Stay here, me and Ichigo will handle this" she told them, Tsubaki nodded, before the blonde turned and swung the blade just before cutting it's head off, just like the other one. Landing on a tree branch she sheathed Ichigo again on her back before dropping to the ground, landing on her feet. Standing straight she stalked over to the dead Kishen and let Ichigo eat it's soul. Walking over to Tsubaki the blonde watched as she tried to revive Black*Star, sitting Indian style Mikan silently leaned over, covering his mouth and plugging his nose. Ichigo chuckled as Black*Star slowly started to shift, before he snapped his eyes open and flung himself into a sitting position, he cringed and fell back, the blonde rolled her-once again-amber eyes before letting a small smile out. _

"_What happened?" he asked, Tsubaki started telling him what happened, _

"_Well you see Black*Star, while we were fighting one of the Kishen's Mikan took her's down, well, the one we were fighting had pinned us to the wall and started beating on you, not long after that Mikan saved us then killed the other Kishen" his eyes widened as he looked to Mikan, he looked like he was going to say something when another voice blocked his, _

"_Mikan!" turning she looked to see Gwendolyn running towards her with that Ed guy, she kneeled beside the other girl and pulled her into a hug, _

"_Oh man when I was so worried, I'm glad your alright" she sighed, releasing the blonde, the amber eyed teen cocked her head, and blinked owlishly before bursting out into a huge grin, her eyes turning into upside down U's. _

"_Nope, can't kill me that easily" she laughed, before her eyes widened and her head snapped to Ichigo's direction before her eyes brightened in joy, _

"_Ichigo! Remember what you promised me!" she yelled, pointing her finger at him excitedly, bouncing happily, her hair flowed with the movement before it brushed against her shoulder wound, she winced, hissing in pain before letting her Aunty take a look at it. _

"_Wow, this is a nasty gash, I'm surprised this is the only injury you have" the good doctor said. Tsubaki struggled to help her meister up only for Ichigo to help him instead, _

"_It's alright, I can help him" the chain scythe gave him a look of gratitude, a look that Mikan didn't miss, following the small group in Gwendolyn paused as she watched her niece, she was smiling and laughing as if she didn't just take down two large Kishen eggs on her own, _

"_That girl is too much like her father" she whispered sadly, though Gwendolyn couldn't help but notice the sneak peeks that her niece took of Black*Star, _

"_Then again, she does have some of her mother's traits" she smiled softly. _

_The next day Mikan couldn't keep the grin off her face at the stunned silence of Lord Death, Spirit, and Sid as she finished her report. _

"_Well, that sounds quite interesting that you took them down like that" Lord Death finally spoke, giggling cutely the blonde nodded, her ponytail bouncing lightly with each shake of her head. _

"_So now the girls will be safe from those eggs, I'm just sad so many had to suffer like that before they were finally taken down" Mikan slumped a little, the girl felt bad enough to even visit each of their graves to give them the happy news. Though it still didn't help dull the sadness. Lord Death just stared at her, _

"_Mikan come one! I want to see your hand to hand combat skills!" turning her eyes flashed brightly at who called her over, _

"_Be right there Black*Star!" she hollered and turned back to the three men, _

"_May I go now sir?" she asked politely, the Shinigami nodded and turned off his mirror. Mikan turned excitedly as she ran to the boxing ring and put on the boxing gloves. Both waited, tense, _

"_And…fight!" Aunty yelled._


	9. Milkshake's and remembering

It was horrible, absolutely tragic at the scene, it was something that no person, man, woman or child should have to go through. The young blonde stood frozen, large amber eyes wide in disbelief before slowly lifting her head to meet a pair of scared, fearful pair of green eyes.

"Dude, if I were you I'd run" Soul muttered quietly to his best friend, unfortunately he didn't even take one step before he was slammed into the pillar of the school, her eyes went from amber to orange flame,

"You. Made. Me. Drop. My. Milkshake" each word had been separated and emphasized as she kept putting more pressure onto the boys collar bone. Black*Star shook before she pulled him to her and grabbed the back of his neck tightly and his huge bicep,

"Hey, where are you going? School's going to start in ten minutes?!" Ichigo called after them, Mikan barely glanced back as killing intent rolled off her like waves at the ocean before dragging the boy away from the school. The orange top only sighed before grabbing the cup and lid and threw it away, he looked to the girls who had a secret smile,

"Makes you wonder…" was all Maka said before they all turned to go to class, he raised an eyebrow before following the rest of their group.

"I just hope she doesn't kill him for this" Tsubaki said in worry, Ichigo put a hand to her shoulder, giving her a comforting look,

"Don't worry, Mikan may love milkshakes but she loves Black*Star more" the dark haired girl smiled sadly,

"Yeah…they are close aren't they?" she said softly before they made it in time, they all took their seats and as if they all shared one mind wondered, _how long will it be before the two see what they have?_

Mikan sneezed, someone must be talking about her. Shaking her blonde head the girl kept her grip on Black*Star as she dragged him to 31 Death Flavors and made him buy her a large chocolate Oreo milkshake,

"Seriously it's just a milkshake, no need to go Commando over it" the bluette muttered, unfortunately for him the blonde heard him but left it alone. Once the two made it to the counter she released his neck but kept a firm hold on his arm, the woman at the counter eyed the two teens before she grinned knowingly and made what the blue haired meister ordered.

"I don't want to go to class today" Mikan announced, Black*Star only shrugged before falling into step with her.

"So, can I ask you something?" she suddenly asked, the boy peeked at her and nodded, smiling softly she grabbed his hand and pulled him to a shaded picnic bench and sat in front of him. Taking a quick slurp of her treat she looked him straight in the eyes,

"I heard you're from the Star clan, is that true?" she asked softly, his eyes blinked in surprise, he wasn't expecting that but complied anyway,

"Yeah, DWMA killed all the star clan members not long after I was born. They took me in as a kid and raised me. I'm still an assassin but only for Kishen eggs" she nodded before taking another drink,

"You…you don't resent the school? Or Lord Death for killing your family like that?" he shrugged before shaking his head,

"Not really, I mean, it's my old man's fault for the path he took. I'm actually kind of glad they took me in, I don't think I'd like growing up in a family of murder's" Mikan blinked, he looked thoughtful and a little disheartened she was about to ask a different question when he beat her to it,

"So, what about you? Do you know who killed your parents?" Mikan closed her eyes, every time she tried to remember that night…all she could remember was the blood…so much blood. Taking a deep breath she tried to focus, focus on the face of the man…woman? Did they have black hair? Or was it dark enough to be mistaken as black? Especially in that lighting. Lifting a hand to her eye she kept the other wide open, not seeing anything as she could smell the blood at full force, the look of horror and fear on her mother's face, her father's face was blank, but you could see it in his eyes. He was that kind of man, you had to read his eyes to know what he was feeling. The blonde shook as she caught a fragment…blue eyes…the man or woman had blue eyes!

Soon the girl felt herself shaking but this time it wasn't herself…looking up with glazed over eyes she met a pair of concern filled green eyes, _green, his eyes are green…so pretty… _

"_You okay? You just spaced out then started to freak" Mikan's breathing turned heavy as she placed her hands on top of Black*Star's and nodded, leaning forward and putting her forehead on his shoulder, breathing in his scent of sweat, fresh cut grass and…was that cinnamon? Focusing on the boy before her she felt herself slowly calm down before timidly looking up. Mikan felt her face flush tomato red at the close intimacy of their faces, she blinked and closed her eyes as Black*Star came closer. Instead of kissing her lips she felt them brush against her temple, he pulled away but still kept his arms on her, _

"_The killer…they had blue eyes…dark hair…that's all I can remember about them" she admitted before feeling arms envelop her, _

"_I'm sorry for pushing you like that, it's something you shouldn't be forced to remember and when your ready to talk about it I'm here for you" she nodded and felt as if a huge weight had been lifted from her shoulders. The two meister's just stayed like that for awhile longer, before deciding they should at least attend some of their classes today. _


	10. Mixed feelings and dinner invitations

After Black*Star took Mikan to school he couldn't shake the look of fear on her face as she re-lived the memories of that night. She was in so much pain just trying to figure out the fact that her parents' murderer had dark hair and blue eyes, sighing he ran a hand through his blue hair and thought of ways to make up for her fear. He bought her the milkshake then before they made it to school he pulled her into a bookstore that Mikan seemed to have an eye on for awhile now, he bought her a few Manga then took her to class. Since Black*Star was too distracted by a certain pale blonde amber eyed girl he continued to ditch class and just sat in an empty classroom that had a view of the Meister training. He watched as Mikan through punches and kicks left and right, dodging, improvising her attacks and coming out on top, the bluette sighed as he remembered the fight he had with her and smiled as she had used her Koala bear powers on him. She really did know how to stick to something.

"Black*Star?" the boy turned to see none other than Sid-Sensei, the zombie man came and stood by the younger boy and looked at the bluette's object of concentration,

"I see you've taken an interest in her?" he questioned, Black*Star didn't look away as he answered,

"Yeah…she's different…than what I originally thought" he mused thoughtfully, watching as she roundhouse kicked Maka in the stomach, sending the other blonde flying.

"Well, that's good right? Seeing as how you never take any interest in anything other than yourself" the bluette sighed softly, his breath fogged the window for a second before it receded and cleared again. Hearing heavy footsteps he looked up in time to see Sid-Sensei walking out the door,

"When you see Mikan again, tell her she's a good fighter see what happens after that" Black*Star only blinked before looking back in time to see the same girl look up, in his direction. Feeling panic rise the boy ducked down, hoping she hadn't seen him,

"Why should I be afraid? I'm going to be the one to surpass god and I'm hiding from a girl?" he questioned himself aloud, sucking in a breath he sat back up and looked for the blonde only to find her missing.

"What the hell?" he muttered, letting his hand run through his hair and sighed before getting up and leaving the room, unaware of a pair of brown eyes watching him.

"Where have you been dude?" Black*Star looked up to see Soul and Kid waiting for him, they were in class again and he sat beside his weapon who was turned in her seat and talking to Mikan,

"Didn't feel like coming to class for a bit. Why? Did you miss your god that much?" he teased, Soul rolled his eyes,

"Mikan asked for you" he said, Black*Star felt himself jump lightly before looking back to stare at the same girl, her face was still flush from her fight with Maka, her eyes sparkling as she laughed at something Tsubaki told her. Blinking she looked to the side and met a pair of green eyes, she smiled lightly at him, giving him a small nod before turning back to the weapon.

"Right, sure she did. Maybe she finally realized I'm going to surpass god someday!" he forced a laugh, the look Soul gave him was one of concern and slight confusion,

"I think what Soul means is that Mikan asked for you. Maybe she was concerned about why you didn't show up for class?" Kid hinted, but Black*Star was focused on being an idiot for the time being that Soul and Kid just decided to give up, for now.

"Hey Black*Star, Mikan and Ichigo invited us over for dinner, what do you say?" Tsubaki cut in, he looked to her then over to the blonde and orange top, Mikan had a sweet and inviting smile, her amber eyes filled with hope while Ichigo looked a little nervous, looking back to his weapon who seemed she really wanted to go he decided it might be a nice change of pace and nodded,

"Sure, do we need to bring anything?" he asked, Mikan shook her head,

"Nope, just bring yourselves" the blonde offered, turning back to her seat and seemed to be writing something down.

"Here's the address, come over at around six" she handed the paper to Tsubaki,

"Thank you Mikan" she nodded,

"Oh, since Mikan is bad at giving directions just call my cell in case her 'map' get's you lost" Ichigo said, putting his cell number down before pulling away again. _Dinner together hm? That'll be interesting Black*Star thought. _


	11. Thanks for the heads up

Mikan felt jittery as she went to the supermarket after school, she and Ichigo had invited Black*Star and Tsubaki to dinner at their place, made her wonder how well it'll go over as she gathered ingredients for spaghetti. It was a simple dish and wouldn't take long to make, she had bought olives, sausage, mushrooms, onions and a bunch of other things including two loaves of French bread.

"'Cant' have spaghetti without garlic bread'" her mother once told her and she was right, mom's usually are. To Mikan, it was practically a crime to have anything Italian without Garlic bread, it went against her code, her morality, plus it just tasted so damn good if cooked long enough.

Entering the warm afternoon heat the blonde felt her pocket buzz and reached for her cell phone, it was nothing fancy, just a simple black flip phone, checking collar I.D. she grinned,

"Hey what's up fancy pants?" the girl greeted, on the other end of the line a snort could be heard,

"Fancy pants? How am I a fancy pants when I get my clothes whenever they're on sale?" she rolled her eyes,

"So, not to be a bitch when I say this but, what do you want May?" her voice turned serious, all playfulness gone as she walked back home. May Carter, a girl she was friends with when she and Ichigo still lived in Springfield,

"I heard some news, word on the street that Jackal's looking for you" Mikan stopped walking, Jackal was the leader of Ichigo's old gang, and when the orange top left the gang to be Mikan's partner the boss-man had sworn to hunt down and personally kill the blonde.

"Yeah, he's been after me and Ichigo the day he quite the gang. It's been nearly what…five…six years since that incident?" she asked, the blonde feeling eyes on her kept walking thinking it was just her paranoia,

"Yeah well…that's the thing Mik, one of his boys saw you and the orange head get on a plane with two other kids heading to Nevada. I don't think he knows _where in Nevada you are, but he's just made a huge leap in finding you two" May warned, and Mikan quickened her pace feeling too exposed, even though the blonde knows she can handle herself Jackal had a second weapon other than Ichigo in his crew and if he learned how to handle that weapon…well…let's just go with how understated the term 'Royally Screwed' would be for this topic of conversation. _

"_Mikan, be safe and tell that idiot Ichigo he better keep his eyes on you from now on. If I hear anything more I'll call you immediately, just…please be safe wherever you two are. I love you" Mikan could hear the tears threaten to fall from May's eyes, the two girls were just that close, _

"_Love you too May, and thank you for all you've done and do for us. I'd probably be dead in a ditch if it weren't for your quick thinking" Mikan praised, there was silence and the blonde felt a smile mixed between sadness and nostalgia tug at the corners of her mouth. _

"_Yeah, no problemo, anyways, I got to go now. I just wanted to warn you two and remember, stay close to Ichigo" the two hung up and Mikan, getting a better grip on her groceries hightailed it. She didn't run but she didn't take a leisurely stroll through the park. Normally she would have crossed the park to cut time but after knowing about Jackal she knew she couldn't cut corners anymore, literally and metaphorically. _

_By the time she got home it was already five, _

"_Hey, I thought you'd be home earlier" Ichigo's voice rang out, she snapped her head to the side and her expression caught him off guard, _

"_May called, Jackal knows we're in Nevada but hopefully doesn't know we're in Death City" Ichigo's face paled before his expression hardened and he crossed the room and took the food from her, _

"_I'll cook, go take a shower and calm down some. We'll talk about it when we have more time" the blonde nodded and headed to her bedroom, grabbed a towel and went straight for the bathroom. _

_Letting the hot water relax her muscles she forced thoughts of her past to come to her mind and instead focused on the fact that Black*Star and Tsubaki will be coming over in an hour, she just hoped she could pull herself together before the two got there._


	12. Have they found us already?

Anxious, excited, nervous and afraid. Those were the emotions Ichigo felt as he thought of Jackal, his old leader, the man could be ruthless if the situation called for it, or diplomatic,

"More like manipulative" Ichigo snorted. Diplomacy was a word that was not in Jackal's vocabulary, in fact, it was far from it. He could still remember the indescribable fury on the older man's face when the orange top had told his boss he was leaving to be Mikan's weapon. He could still feel the icy threat from the man,

"_Alright Ichigo, I'll give you two choices. One, you convince the girl to join the gang and you can be her weapon. Two, you leave the gang and join her, and I hunt down the girl and kill her, slowly, painfully. I will let her feel the pain I feel when one of my own betrays me. If you truly care for the girl Ichigo, you'll have her join the gang, or join her in the afterlife. What will it be?" Ichigo had made his choice, and, for the first time in a long while, Ichigo felt true fear for Mikan and himself, he should have been more careful, he should have worn a wig. There were a lot of things Ichigo could have done to keep them hidden better, but he didn't, and Mikan will pay the price for his stupidity. They were screwed. _

"_Ichigo?" the boy turned from the noodles before him, seeing his meister, she had her black basketball shorts on with a light grey spaghetti strapped top, the taller boy sighed, _

"_It's fine Mikan, can you help me set up the table? Tsubaki and Black*Star will be here soon" the blonde nodded, though, as she started heading for the kitchen the door bell rang. Ichigo felt tense, had they found them already? If they did, Ichigo knew what he'd have to do, and knew he wouldn't regret it for a single minute, not if it kept Mikan alive and happy. _


	13. A nervous dinner night

Ichigo was acting weird, Mikan knew it the way the older boy walked, tense as a stone to the door, what really freaked her out is that as he walked to it, he turned his arm into a blade.

"Ichigo…?" she asked, her voice soft, she hadn't seen him this tense since they first started running from Jackal, then, like one of Black*Star's sucker punches, it hit her; Jackal! Swallowing the girl ran softly to her room, grabbed her new red and white converse, put them on and started to pack, if it was him and his new weapon they'd have to leave as soon as possible, Mikan refused to let any of their new friends get involved. A large grinning, blue haired, green eyed boy's head popped in her mind, shaking her head she was going to leave her room when Ichigo's voice stopped her.

"Relax Mikan, it's only Tsubaki and Black*Star, they're early" the blonde felt herself shaking as she dropped to her knees, her duffel falling from her grasp. She sat there awhile, her breathing heavy as immense relief filled her being, tears filled her eyes but she wiped them away.

"No crying Mikan, you can't cry anymore. You promised you wouldn't" she berated herself softly, not wanting the assassin's well trained ears hearing her. Standing on shaking legs she kicked her bag under her bed and sat there for a minute,

"Mikan? You okay in there?" Tsubaki's voice penetrated the door, startled, she jumped lightly before going to the door,

"Yeah, I'm fine Tsubaki," she laughed awkwardly, scratching the back of her head, the blackette gave her a once over and seemed to hesitate, but spoke softly,

"Are you sure your alright?" the girl asked. Mikan felt warmth spread in her stomach, Tsubaki was so good to her, _as weird as it sounds, she kind of reminds me of mom_ she thought to herself.

"Yeah I'm fine, uh, I took a nap and had a nightmare. I'm good though now," she spoke more confidently and opened the door wider stepping out of her room and headed to the kitchen where the boys stood talking. When she saw Black*Star, she felt herself get nervous, why though, she had no idea, _maybe I'm still freaked over what just happened, yeah, that's it, that's exactly why I'm suddenly so nervous_ Mikan thought sarcastically.

"Need any help?" she asked, Tsubaki coming in behind her, Ichigo looked over at the girls and shook his head,

"No, I'm just about done, the tables set so you three just relax in the living room and I'll let you know when it's ready" the three nodded in unison, though it was only Mikan and Black*Star that went to the living room while Tsubaki stayed with Ichigo. As the two meister's sat, Mikan's hand kept shaking, she shifted in her seat so she was sitting on both her hands and tucked one leg under butt while the other leg hung gently off the couch.

"So, how are you both today?" Mikan asked, she turned her bright blue eyes to him, his green orbs shifted, searching for something in hers, for what though, she had no idea,

"We're good, so, thank you for inviting us like this" he offered, the blonde smiled softly and nodded,

"Your welcome, it's been a long time since Ichigo and I got to have any real company over. So, thank you for that" Black*Star was going to say something until Ichigo's voice broke through to them,

"Dinner's ready!" he called,

"Okay, thank you!" Mikan called back. She stood, trying to get some feeling back in her hands as she and Black*Star walked to the dinner table and sat.

It was silent as they ate, with the occasional comments and appreciations for the dinner and how good it was, Mikan smiled, spaghetti is Ichigo's best dishes he can make, albeit, spaghetti is the only thing he really likes to cook. The blonde reached over for her Dr. Pepper can and felt the can shaking, she forced the can to stay strong as she gulped her drink down quietly, happily, the others were too busy small talking or eating to take notice. Under the table, she felt something rub against her foot, she looked up to see Ichigo looking at her from the corner of his eye, giving him a sheepish grin she went back to eating, wanting to avoid any kind of confrontation. She snuck glances at their company, they didn't seem to pay any mind as they talked, and she wondered from Black*Star's table manners if the boy even knew what a napkin was, and, if, the way Tsubaki kept berating the bluette, that she had taken over as the surrogate mother figure from the way she kept trying to get him to clean up his mess. She smiled at the two, hoping there can be more nights like these in the future, as long as Jackal didn't find her and Ichigo, then there was a possibility that they were safe, for the moment that is.

"Hey Mikan?" said girl looked up,

"Yeah?" the demon-weapon seemed nervous as she wrung her hands together,

"Um, do you want help clearing the dishes?" the blonde looked around to see everyone was done eating, _I have to stop spacing out like that, people will start to question my sanity_ she thought. Mikan nodded and the two girls started cleaning up the table's mess.

When the girls had all the dishes piled together they started washing them, then putting them in the dishwasher, it was silent for awhile until the blackette spoke up,

"Mikan, are you sure your okay? You looked like you were thinking over something serious" the blonde looked up before looking down at the dirty fork in her hand, if she told Tsubaki the truth, then, it would find it's way to Ichigo and then she'd really never hear the end of it. So, with lots of regret and self-loathing, she did what she does best, she lied.

"Oh yeah, I'm sure. I'm just wondering what would happen if Black*Star and Kid went toe-to-toe in a serious, all out battle. What do you think?" she smiled, Tsubaki just sweat dropped, before turning thoughtful,

"That's a hard one. Kid is Lord Death's son, but, if Black*Star really put his mind to it, it's possible they could be even in terms of strength, but, add in me, Liz and Patty into the equation, then it's possible that Kid would win again" Mikan blinked,

"Win again? You mean, they fought before?" Tsubaki grinned, letting out a giggle,

"Yes, well, it was before you came and Black*Star challenged Kid to a battle, well, Black*Star dragged Soul into the fight as well. When they tried to fight as meister and weapon pair, well, let's just say they weren't the best kind of partners" Mikan smiled, _that sounds like something those two would try to pull off_, she shook her head and the two continued to do the dishes silently after that, ignoring the boys' arguing over whatever it is they were fighting over.

"Thank you again for inviting us Mikan, Ichigo, it was fun. Next time you can come over to our place for dinner" Tsubaki offered, Mikan nodded,

"Sounds like a plan, thank you again for coming" the blonde and her partner stood at the door as the other meister, weapon pair stood in the hall of their apartment complex.

"I'm going to shower okay Mikan?" the blonde looked to see the orange top walk to the bathroom, she smiled and shook her head before looking to their friends,

"So, we'll see you at school tomorrow" Tsubaki said, Mikan nodded and lightly shut the door.

As Black*Star and Tsubaki walked home, the bluette couldn't help but think of the blonde he'd just seen. _She looked so frazzled, scared, something must be upsetting her, he figured. Tomorrow, at school, he decided to check in with her, make sure she's okay and doing good. For some reason, Mikan brought out a side of himself he didn't recognize, protective? Was that the right word? He did feel an urge to make sure she was safe, he bit his bottom lip, later tonight he'll check in with her, sure it could sound like he was stalking her, but, that urge…Whatever it was, it made him want to protect her. He sighed inwardly and ran his fingers through his hair, wondering how he should go about this. While Black*Star was contemplating his protective instincts, Tsubaki couldn't help but wonder the same things, on a different level. Should she ask Mikan and Ichigo what was bothering them? Or should she wait for them to come to her? Most likely it'll be Ichigo since Mikan seems closer to Black*Star, maybe she could go to the sword weapon tomorrow and see what was bothering them. Sighing, the two entered their apartment, Black*Star heading to his room while she went to take a bath. _

_Little did the small foursome know, was that an older man a younger girl stepped off the plane and into the desert sunset _

"_Well Sarah, you ready to get revenge on that horrible girl and her disgusting partner?" the man asked, the girl-Sarah-nodded, her light brown eyes full of hate, revenge, and betrayal, _

"_I'm ready Jackal" _

_Kitsunekit75: Oh shit just got real! Okay, so, I'm deeply regretful for my weird leaving you all for so long gig, I had been pretty busy with school and couldn't find much time to write for you all, and I pinky promise you all (which I will keep since pinky promises are sacred, don't believe me, there's a story called Pinky Promises by BlackRoseKai, read it, it's fudjing amazing) that I will not abandon you, and if I do, you may virtually break my pinky-promise. Okay, and another thing, I'm sorry if Black*Star is OOC, it's been awhile since I saw the show, and I've been reading the manga and the newer updates with Black*Star in them, show him not as self-obsessed as the beginning of the series. So I want to apologize to Black*Star fans if I'm not writing him right, heh, that almost rhymed, anyways, I digress, I will do my best to update more often and sorry that it's not long enough! Also, read and review, and I will give you virtual slices of pineapple shortcake! Love you all! _


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